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If you are one of the many companies struggling to find talented professionals to fill your key roles, know that you're not alone. As the international employment crunch continues, everyone is having a hard time keeping their positions filled. Businesses have been required to implement more aggressive and competitive recruiting practices to even get a chance at bringing in the quantity and quality of skilled professionals they need to support continued success and growth. Of course, it's not like the professionals aren't out there.

While you could try to entice employees of other companies to switch over to you, what about the thousands of talented professionals working as freelancers or those who have temporarily left the workforce to raise their children? Their experience and skills are still valuable, but to get them back into the workforce, you will need to be willing to provide them with flexible and family friendly work policies. That said, a talented remote employee is better than no employee at all.

Why Parents Leave the Workforce?

If you have your eye on the resume of someone who stopped working recently to raise their children, the only way to entice them back to work is by accommodating their needs as parents. Excellent family health care options are a great start but what they really care about is the ability to spend time with their children. This means remote work, flexible hours, and the ability to take a reasonable number of sick days each year to care for children when they get ear infections or come down with the yearly cold.

Understanding Parental Availability

Parents of very young children probably aren't interested in coming back until their child is at least 3 years old and able to entertain themselves for a certain amount of time with minimal supervision. However, your primary targets should be parents of children who have recently started going to school for at least half-day kindergarten. These are professionals who suddenly have many more hours of time on their hands than before. If you are willing to offer part-time hours that fit between school drop off and pick up times, devoted parents are much more likely to consider your job offers.

Remote, In-Office, and Flexible Hours

While other aspects matter too, the key to hiring these talented but family-oriented professionals is to have the right scheduling options available. Remote work with flexible hours allows them to put in work time at any point where they have fifteen minutes or more away from the kids. This can mean early mornings, during school, while the kids are napping or playing, and after early bed times. If you need them in the office, accepting a few days a week allows parents to arrange play dates and alternative care after school without having to go with a full daycare solution.

Other Family-Friendly Perks

While you're putting together a work package to tempt parents into your open positions, don't forget other family-friendly perks. Health care packages should consider the needs of their child and a spouse who may be taking on more parenting duties as your candidate gets back to work. A company daycare or a program to help pay for child care may also help you free up work hours for these professionals. Finally, don't forget that their family may still be growing. Generous parental leave for both mothers and fathers will assure your parent employees that they're welcome to keep focusing on family and working for you at the same time.

With the right policies and recruitment methods, you can show talented professionals that they don't need to leave their careers behind completely in order to be good devoted parents. Family friendly HR policies will help you not only bring on new hires, it can also help you hold onto the employees you have when they decide to have a baby.